Marval Wouldnt Let Me Fish!

[tsfinest]

Tried to go fishing early this morning and thought Id give Marval a try since I hadnt been there in a long time. Greeted by a man stepping in front of my car, Im guessing the owner, saying I couldnt enter. I asked why not and he said b/c the park is full and he has over 1000 ppl there. Someone correct me if Im wrong, but I thought we were supposed to be able to go in and fish there due to the stocking program agreement. Looks like I wont be throwing any money Marvals way whenever I want to take the family to Gore.

On a side note, lots of fish were caught around Watts and Dam area. They seemed to like the midges under a strike indicator. Was there about 5 hours can caught probably 15 or so fish. Better fishing today than the last couple times Ive been down there last month.

[OKFlyFisher44]

That's really odd? It shouldnt matter if you're just going in to park and fish. I don't understand that at all. I haven't had an issue yet, but I've always got there way before they were open so I just parked and walked in.

Maybe someone can clarify this for us...

[Bill Butts]

I agree with OKFF44, this needs to be clarified.

There was a similar post back at either July 4th or Memorial Weedend.

It is understandable that MarVal could have some parking and crowd issues during a busy weekend, but if the agreement with the ODWC is to allow free public access in exchange for the trout stocking then the ODWC needs to remind MarVal management of this and to be fully compliant. I suppose there is a chance that their agreement could provide exceptions on major holiday weekends.

Remember, too, that MarVal sold their resort to a larger national company a few years ago, so the "agreement" was most likely with the original owners prior to the change in ownership.

The fisheries biologist from ODWC for the Lower Illinois fishery is Gary Peterson, and he is a very nice man. If someone would contact him at 918.683.1031 and then post their findings, it would benefit everyone on the board who accesses the river. Some may not even know about the access. Whomever talks with Gary should also ask him to notify MarVal of the issue directly, so this is resolved with the proper communication. The ODWC are great folks, in my experience.

I would call Gary and get this clarified, but I am leaving early Tuesday for 7 days and will have very limited access to a computer.

If there are any questions, you can email me ( bill.butts@sbcglobal.net ) or post a reply or a PM any time thru Monday night and I will follow-up asap. You can also call me any time at 417-840-3040.

Thanks in advance for your time and effort to help everyone better understand what the agreement really is.

Good luck in getting clarification.

Bill